COMPELLING AND ULTIMATELY HOPEFUL STORYIn this modern-day Hansel and Gretel story, Saucy and Bubba struggle to get along with Krissy, their alcoholic stepmother. One freezing cold night, Krissy locks Saucy out of the house and Saucy must sleep in the barn. In a desperate move, Saucy and Bubba run away to their aunt's house-except Aunt Vivian isn't home. Trying to take care of Bubba for several days forces Saucy to take charge of her own life and accept a terrible sacrifice in order to find safety for herself. This middle grade novel is a heartbreakingly simple story that weaves through the tangled threads of a family and builds to an ending full of hope. Author Darcy Pattison recently wrote about the need for books about troubled families on the Children's Book Council Diversity blog. Stories like this one carry a certain darkness, even if the events carry the weight of truth. It's in the tradition of Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt, and The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson. Both of these award-winning books tell of painful truths, but they manage to do so with respect for the child reader. I especially like Paterson's statement that she always ends her stories with a note of hope. Fortunately, Saucy's story also ends with hope that the family will work things out and come back togetherJoin Saucy and Bubba in their poignant search for family.WHY DID YOU WRITE THIS BOOK?I've always been fascinated by the Hansel and Gretel story, and I tho...